Category Archives: How-To Guides

As we enter student registration and summer programming signup season, we’ve received inquiries from a number of District staff members regarding Gmail sending limits. While most users of the District’s email system would never run into these limits, it’s important that staff members who are regularly communicating with large numbers of individuals be aware of the following limits:

There seems to be no end to the crazy weather we’ve had thus far this year! Now, not only has the weather complicated school day schedules and our academic calendar, but it’s also having an impact on technology.

ICCSD extended its second trimester to provide more contact time for Tri 2 courses that have already lost so much. In doing so, the District updated its term definitions in PowerSchool, extending the Tri 2 end date by a few days. In doing so, we accidentally broke Canvas grade synchronization. The bug is not one that Canvas was aware of, as it’s not often that institutions adjust term start/end dates in the middle of the year.

The good thing is that we have a solution. Teachers who utilize grade synchronization between Canvas and PowerSchool will need to reimport grading categories within each course. Instructions for doing so can be found in step 4 here, and after doing so, grade sync should work properly.

For those teachers who would like to take a deeper dive into Canvas, I recommend checking out this Canvas: Advanced Workshop slide deck. This resource can serve as a self-guided launching point to learn more about how Canvas can be leveraged in your classroom.

Among the topics that are included are:

Google Integration

Instructor Basics

Assignments and Grading

Assessments

Discussions

Text/Email Notification Settings

Mastery Paths (individualization/personalization)

Further, you’ll find a link to enroll in Kung-Fu Canvas, our Canvas course for instructors, where you can explore Canvas topics from basic to advanced.

We’ve had relatively few ongoing technical issues with Canvas, but one of the problems that’s been a nagging issue that’s impacted our students and teachers is an issue with embedded Google documents.

One of the features of Canvas is that it integrates with Google Drive; teachers can embed Google syllabi, assignment descriptions, sheets that students can collaborate on, etc., within Canvas. Further, students can submit Google Docs as Canvas assignment submissions, embed Google docs in wikis and discussion boards, and so forth.

One of the benefits of Chromebooks the Chrome browser is that they automatically update their software to the latest version, freeing up IT staff time to work on other issues. We recently learned, however, that a handful of ICCSD Chromebooks were stuck on Chrome OS Version 61, which was preventing certain Chrome Apps – like Lexia – from loading.

At any time, students and teachers can manually check for software updates on a district-issued Chromebook or in the Chrome browser on a Windows or Mac computer. This can be an easy first step when an application is not loading or isn’t behaving as expected. In order to check for a software update, follow the appropriate set of instructions below; the first set shows how to update a Chromebook, and the second shows how to update the Chrome browser.

We’ve received a number of support requests from individuals (students and teachers) who are missing courses in Canvas. In the vast majority of cases, the Canvas enrollments are correct, but the user dashboard is customized such that the courses don’t appear when the user logs in. Check out the steps (and video) below that show you how to customize which courses appear on your dashboard.

Changes to the Canvas app and authentication system in early August caused our previous instructions for using the parent app to no longer work. Please follow the instructions below to create a parent/guardian account, to access Canvas Parent from a computer web browser, to set up the Canvas Parent iOS/Android app, and to obtain a student pairing code from a student account. Teachers can find instructions for how to obtain student pairing codes here.

Interactive Projector Videos: these video-walkthroughs show you how to use common interactive projector functions, and how to connect wirelessly to a projector.

Classroom Technology Resources: these step-by-step guides will show you how to identify and use features of our classroom technology suite, including the new suite and the SMART Board/hub computer configuration.

While I try to avoid getting too technical or specific in these blog posts, I’ve received enough questions on this topic in the past few days to think that it warrants its own mention. The issue is this: whereas our high schools and junior highs have 7 or 8 periods, PowerSchool has as many as 14 periods, depending on the building. When Canvas synchronizes section names from PowerSchool, it uses the PowerSchool period numbers, meaning that the periods shown in Canvas don’t necessarily match the actual period of the day. This results in section names that seem to indicate period numbers that don’t even exist, such as this section at North Central JH – an 8-period school – that appears to take place during period 14:

A couple of weeks ago I was presenting to a group of teachers, one of whom asked a question that I realized wasn’t addressed in a related how-to guide. During the ensuing break, I decided to work on revising the how-to guide, a process that included taking a couple of screenshots, much like this one (below).

Several of the teachers who were watching me develop this guide were in awe of the tool that I used to create my screenshots, the Snipping Tool. One of the hidden secrets in Windows, the Snipping Tool is one of the utilities that I use on an almost-daily basis. Whether I’m creating a how-to guide, developing a presentation that includes examples, reporting a software error, sharing a Google Map, or capturing a website, the Snipping Tool is my go-to.